The Unexpectedly Delightful Origins of 15 Common Words

Even some of the most mundane words can have delightful back stories.
1. School
From Greek skhola, which meant leisure or spare time. What a luxury it was to just hang around and learn!
2. Companion
From Latin com+panis, “together+bread.” A companion is someone you share bread with.
3. Window
From Old Norse vindauga for “wind eye.” It won out over other old words meaning “eye hole” and “eye door.”
4. Squirrel
From the Greek skia oura, or “shade tail.” The big, fluffy tail of a squirrel makes a nice parasol.
5. Muscle
From Latin musculus for “little mouse.” A rippling muscle can sometimes look like a little mouse running around under the skin.
6. Eavesdrop
From the Old English term for the line around a house where rain would drip down from the roof. It came to represent the activity of standing within the eavesdrop in order to spy on what the neighbors were up to.
7. Wheedle
From the German wedeln for tail wagging. Dogs know that the best way to wheedle something out of you is to adorably wag that tail.
8. Dandelion
From French dent de lion, “tooth of the lion,” for the jagged outline of the flower petals.
9. Curfew
From French couvre feu for “cover fire.” In medieval Europe there were fire safety regulations under which a bell would ring in the evening when it was time to extinguish fires and go to sleep.
10. Astronaut
Formed from the Greek roots for star (astro-) and sailor (nautes). An astronaut sails among the stars.
11. Flair
From Latin flagrare, an altered form of fragare, “to smell” (related to “fragrant”). A flair for something is a bit of extra perceptiveness, an ability to catch the scent.
12. Howdy
A friendly shortening of the more formal “how do ye?” or “how do you do?”
13. Cushy
From the Hindi khush for pleasant or happy.
14. Explain
From the Latin explanare for “smooth out, flatten, or make planar.” A good explanation will make the rough, pointy bits easier to understand.
15. Daisy
From Old English daeges eage, meaning “day’s eye.” A daisy opens with the day and closes at night.